Garment-pressing machine



R. H. MELZER GARMENT PRESSING MACHINE Sept. 23

' Original Filed Sent. 29 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet l Patented Sept. 23, 1924.

UNITED STATES i v P ATEN T OFt RICHARD H. MELZER, F SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO TRIPLEX GARMENT PRESSER, INQ, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK,

A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

GARMENT-PRESSING MACHINE.

Original application filed September 29, 1920, Serial No. 413,559. Patent No. 1,400,088, dated December 13, 1921. Divided and this application filed September 2, 1921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that LRIQHARD H. MELZER, of Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Garment-Pressing Machines, of which the following, taken in connection With the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, .and exact description.

This invention relates to a garment pressing machine ofthe class set forth in my Patent, Number 1,400,088, issued to me Dec. 13, 1921, of which the present application is a divisionand refers more particularly to the construction of the lower pressing element or buck through which steam is adinitted to the garment under pressure for moistening purposes.

In machines of this character, most of the pressing elements are usually heated by steam to permit them to be used for pressing and drying garments whichare brought to the machine in a more or less saturated condition, as for example, in laundry work, one of the pressing elements being usually provided with means for permitting the steam to pass therethrough to the garment for moistening the same, as for example, 1n a tailor shop and clothing manufacturers where the garments are brought to'the machine in a dry condition and 'must therefore, be moistened more or less during the pressing operation, the garment being drled by the heat of the'pressing element immediately following the moistening and pressing, whereby the work of cleaning, sterilizing, shaping and restoring the na of the garment is greatly expedited by uirect pressure as distinguished from the reciprocatory pressure of sadirons and likeinstruments which are more or less destructive to the garment. Furthermore, in applying steam to dry garments for moistening purposes, it is desirable to distribute said steam over as large an area as possible with a single buck to not only conserve the steam but also to avoid excessive saturation of any particular portion of the garment, and one of the main objects of this invention is to obtain this broad area of distribution of the steam by the simple application ofa surface plate to the upper face of the buck in such manner as to leave a marginal channel running practically the entire length and Width of the buck and communicating with the heating Serial No. 497,871.

chamber through the medium of a normally closed controlling valve, thereby avoiding the considerable expense and labor of drill- Another object is to place the passage leading from the inlet port of the heating chamber some distance above the bottom of said heating chamber and also above the passage leading from the inlet to the valve chamber, whereby the heatin chamber may serve not only as a means or heating the buck but also as a relatively large condensing chamber for receiving the water of condensation or excess moisture which may be carried into the buck through the inlet and which may be drained off from the heating chamber through a suitable drain pipe connected to the 'waste and returned to the source of steam supply.

Another object is to connect the valve chamber to the distributing chamber in such manner that the steam will be caused to travel downwardly and then upwardly through relatively small passages to further reduce the moisture content in the steam delivered to the garment.

Other objects and uses relating to specific parts of the buck and steam circulating systemwill be brought out in the following description:

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan of the buck.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the same taken in the plane of line 2-2, Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken on line 33, Fig. 1.

Figs.4 and 5 are transverse vertical sectional views taken, respectively, on lines 4= 1 and 5--5, Fig. 1.

The buck 6- is preferably made of cast metal and is provided with an interior chamber or channel 66-- extending entirely around the marginal edge thereof to form a heating chamber, said head being also provided with a primary distributing chamber -67- and a secondary distributing chamber 68 through which steam is admitted to the garment for moistening purposes.

A steam supply pipe --70- leads to an inlet -71 inthe'underside ofthe buck. The inlet 7 1 communicates with a channel 72 running a short distance along the inner side of a partition -73- between said channel and adjacent side of the chamber -66 and communicating with such chamber through a passage 74 over the upper edge of the partition '73 which rises from the bottom of the chamber -66- and channel -72 to a horizontal plane just sufficiently below the top of said chamber and channel to form the connecting passage 74. The object of this partition --73-- is to produce a collecting chamber for water of condensation in the adjacent portion of the chamber 66 to prevent such water from passing into the distributing chambers 67- and 68. v

The end of the channel -'72- opposite that at which the inlet 71 is located is provided with a forwardly extending branch -72' leading to a vertical valve chamber 75 at the longitudinal center of the buck and extending through the top thereof, where it is closed by a plug 76.

An upright tubular valve case -,77- is secured in the lower end of the valve cham ber 75- and is provided with' a valve seat- -78 normally engaged by a ball valve *79, said valve case being provided with one or more radial steam passages'80-- through the peripheral walls thereof just above the center of the valve, when the latter v is closed, to communicate with the surroundadjacent si ing chamber so that when the valve is raised from its seat, the live steam passes from said valve chamber or through the ports -80 and thence through the opening in the bottom of the valve case to an underlying chamber 81-- which communicates through upwardly diver ing passages 82- with the distributing c ambers -67, as. shown more clearly in Fig. 3, thereby admitting the live steam to the primary distributing chamber and thence through passages 83- to the secondary distributing chamber .--68-.

This distributing chamber -68- preferably consists of a chain of, in this instance five, relativel small circular chambers arranged side y side lengthwise of and in the upper portion of the buck with their es merging with each other, as represented more clearly in Fig. 1 for re- 'celving a similarly formed plate --84, which is of slightly less area than that of the chamber in which it is located to form relatively narrower and circular steam exit passages 85-- and 86 at the inner and outer edges of the chain of rings forming the plate 84, said plate being secured to the upper face of the buck by screws -87 or equivalent fastening means.

A drain pipe 88' leads from the bottom of a portion of the heating chamber 66- directly opposite the inlet 7 1- to drain ofl water of condensation through a main drainage pipe -90.

A valve operating, ro'd -.91- is movable vertically in a suitable guide opening in the upper portion of the bracket 5- which supports the buck 6-, the upper end of said valve being provided with a stop shoulder -92- adapted to engage the upper face of the adjacent portion of the bracket -5- for limiting the downward movement of said rod so that its upper end may lie in close proximity to the underside of the valve 79. The lower end of the valve operating rod 91 is surrounded by a coil spring -93 which is interposed between the un-- derside of the adjacent portion of the bracket -5 and a'shoulder ---94 on the rod to normally force the latter downwardly away from the valve with its shoulder 92-- resting on the adjacent portion of the bracket and thereby allow the valve to close.

The extension of the heating chamber 66 entirely around the marginal edge or edges of the buck and the connection of it directly to the inlet 7 1 through the passage -74 allows said chamber to'be filled with live steam at practically the same pres sure and temperature as that which is admitted to the same inlet and channels -72- and 72'- to the valve chamber, thereby causing a rapid and uniform heating of the buck and maintaining said heat to practicallythe same temperature as the live steam for expediting the drying of the garment whether the latter is brought to the machine in a dry condition and moistened by steam or whether it is brought to the machine in a wet condition as in laundries for drying.

Furthermore, the elevation of the passage 7 some distance above the bottom of chamber -66- and channel 72;- allows the partition 73 to function as a separator for separating the waterof condensation which may accumulate in the chamber 66 which in turn allows the drier steam to pass directly from the inlet 71v to the valve chamber for use in moistening the garment when the valve -79-' is open without liability ofover saturatin said garment.

It will alsobe noted that t e valve chamber -75-- extends downwardly some distance below the horizontal plane of the channel .--72-- leading thereto and communicates with the lower end of the upwardly diverging passages 82- to assure the use of steam with the least moisture content for the moistening of the garment as it passes into the distributing chambers -67- and tively narrow steam exit passage in the upper face of the buck extending continuously in a tortuous path along the entire length of and in a plane above the steam heated chamber, means for introducing live steam into the first named chamber, and valve-controlled means for conducting steam from the first named chamber to the exit passage.

2. In a garment pressing machine, a buck of and a heating chamber at one side of the inlet, a partition between the inlet and heating chamber having a passage above the bottom of said chamber connecting it with the inlet, said buck having a valve chamber and a passage connecting sald valve chamber with the inlet, the buck being also provided with exit passages through the upper face thereof and communicating through additional passages with the valve chamber, and a valve controlling said communication.

3. A pressing machine buck having a primary steam distributing chamber extending along its longitudinal center, a steam heated chamber extending continuously around the sides and ends of the primary chamber, steam exit passages in the upper face of the buck communicating with the primary chamber, means for supplying live steam to the steam-heated chamber, and valve-controlled means for conducting steam from the steam-heated chamber to the primary chamber.

, 4. Ina garment pressing, machine, a buck having a valve chamber, a primary distributing chamber extending in opposite directions from the valve chamber len thwise of the buck, passages connecting said chambers, a

valve controlling the passage of steam through said passages, a secondary distributing 0 amber in a plane above the primary chamber and provided with a relatively narrow exit passage extending continuously along the sides and ends of the primary chamber, passages connecting said primary and secondary chambers, --a steam heated chamber extending continuously around the primary chamber, and means for introducing live steam directly into the heated chamber.-

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 24th day of August, 1921.

RICHARD H. MELZER. Witnesses H. E. 'CHAsE, M. R. Coon. 

